Band of Brigands
by magrat70
Summary: You have fought for your god, King and country. You return home to find your land stolen by greedy cowards, who tax the poor to starvation. You're a knight who fought in the Crusades, you are now a criminal. Steal from the rich to take care of your village. Loosely based on the legends of Robin Hood. Jemily don't like femslash don't read
1. Chapter 1

Title; Band of Brigands

Author; Magrat 70

Disclaimer; not mine Criminal Minds belongs to big CBS and Robin Hood belongs to many people who have mixed history, legend and myths into many things, I make nothing from this.

Rating; T

Author's Note; Sao 21 persuaded me to write this. As a history buff and lover of especially Celtic myths and legends I was a little intimidated and then I thought screw it this is my version of Robin Hood and the thing it bears the nearest resemblance to is probably the last BBC series. On points of history many warriors throughout the centuries have been women dressed as men. If you want an amusing version of this try the great Terry Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment.

Author's note 2; I have used they Criminal Minds names rather than the Robin Hood names or it would be just Robin Hood with a lesbian love story. I realise that some of the names wouldn't be around in the 12th Century. There were people if colour in 12th century Britain. If you're going to get hung up on the history or the legend, then this isn't for you. Most people don't know that most of the legends are from all over the place Robin, could be from lots of places. A lot of places claim him as their own and I really don't want to get into an argument over it. You could say it is loosely based around the many people who lost land to the evil Prince John while his brother was on his crusade.

Prologue

Two little blonde girls sat side by side, watching as the twins with their wooden sword and shields fight hard together. Although not identical with their black hair, dark eyes and delicate porcelain skin, there was no doubting that they were brother and sister. In the end the taller, slightly stronger girl wins. They looped arms around each others shoulders, they have loved each other practically since the day their mother gave birth.

"I am going to be a knight and go to the Holy Land," the girl said, her father had been a great knight and diplomat in his day, he had taught both his son and daughter to fight. He had seen many things on his travels and most of them made him sure that a woman should be able to defend herself.

"You can't be a knight, you're a girl," one of the girls said, "You have to stay at home and get married."

"No Penelope, that's what you might want. I hate being a girl, I am the best fighter in the village. I hate everything." The fiery brunette still only eight was as strong of will as well as body, she ran off towards the forest.

"Emily, come back," her brother shouted after her.

"Don't worry Adam," the other blonde girl got to her feet, the only person that has any control over Emily, "I'll get her back."

"Thank you Jennifer," Adam replied, as the pretty blonde girl, with huge blue eyes goes to control his wild sister; again.

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"Please Jennifer, please just do it," the thirteen year old was living by teenage logic.

"Em your parents will kill you and if they find out that I..."

"I won't tell, I need you to do this for me,' tearful brown eyes, melt blue, she never had a chance.

Jennifer picked up the shears and started hacking her friend's hair off.

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The fifteen year old brunette was cornered by the seventeen year old almost man. She was taller and she hoped stronger than him, she hated Will of Gisborne with all her might.

"Come on Emily you know our parents will arrange a marriage for us. There is only you and Jennifer who have sufficient breeding to be with me. You will have to grow your hair back, how your parents let you walk around like that I don't know. When you are in my household you will do as you're told." He pinned her up against the barn wall trying to kiss her and he hoped a lot more. The knee that she brought up sharply between his legs folds him over and she ran.

Adam found his sister in tears, when he calmed her down to find out what happened, he felt his temper boiling with hatred. He was usually the calm one of the two but not today.

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"Jennifer, have you seen Adam?" Her brother had stormed off, she was scared he would do something stupid.

"No, Emily what happened?" Jennifer wad concerned she hadn't seen her friend cry in many years, it was a shock to see it now.

They talk for a while, Emily realised that her brother still hadn't returned. The two find him later behind the same barn, she had been pinned against. He was unconscious, Emily will live with the guilt for the rest of her life.

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"What do we do Harold?" Elizabeth was wringing her hands, the head injury her son received has left him having seizures. The family have kept it a secret and only the trusted servants knew. They are scared he will be taken from them, that he will be accused of being infected by demons.

Harold was worried deeply for his family, he was much older than his beloved wife, he knows he does not have many years left on this earth. He doesn't want his wife and daughter to lose all that he had for the lack of a male heir. He will not force his daughter to marry against her will. He has an idea, that he hoped god would not punish him for.

Elizabeth was pragmatic, she will not lose everything that they had built, their wealth and power. Their daughter was to die in a tragic accident, after a period of mourning 'Adam' was to reappear. The twins looked so alike no one questioned the swap. Apart from the family and servants the only other people that knew were Jennifer, Penelope and Adam's best friend Spencer Reid; he was only fifteen but he was a genius, he had studied in Florence, Paris and Venice. He was determined that he would cure hs friend so he didn't have to live his life in hiding.

xxxxxxx

At eighteen and five foot eight, she was as tall and strong as any man. She had posed as her brother for three years. She was now ready to do her duty and follow her king to the Holy Land, she was a knight. She was a feared swordsman for miles around, she had little equal with her bow and she was ready to lay down her life.

"Em please don't go," Jennifer was confused over her feelings for her friend. They spent less time together as Emily took up the mantle of being her brother. When they were together, the tension was electric. Her friend looked even more beautiful with her hair cut away from her face. The plains of her cheekbones, the depth of those dark eyes were all Jennifer had thought about for months maybe years.

"I have to go, I have to prove myself," Emily was troubled by the tears in the beautiful blonde's eyes. She had been in love with Jennifer for as long as she could remember. She took her chance and pulled the blonde in for a kiss. It started off hesitant, softy, lips meeting for the first time. Years of hiding and want deepened the kiss between them. Emily tangled her hands through long blonde hair reveling in the moment. "Jennifer, I love you, I promise I will be back for you."

The blonde was breathless, the kiss was buried deep in her soul. "You better Emily, I... I love you too."

They kiss again, hands explored new places and sensations that neither had dreamed of. Jennifer had to stop long fingers from taking her completely. "Not now, when you come back, you can have all of me." More tears were shed, young love admitted too late.

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8 long years of blood and fighting. Emily was deeply changed, she had seen horrors beyond her imagining. She had lost many friends and comrades. She had had so much blood on her hands, she felt she would never be clean.

She no longer believed that theirs was a noble cause, that they had a right to devastate others homelands. She had fought for her god, her King and country, but there was no longer pride. All that was left was emptiness and nightmares. The only thing that she had lived for was to get home to Jennifer and Adam. That sparkling evening that she had spent with her love had been replayed over and over again. At the thought of Jennifer, her hand went to the 5 inch scar that was down the left side of her face. She had come so close to losing her life and her eye that day, when she had been sliced by a Saracen sword. Only Morgan had saved her, the son of their village blacksmith had been with her since the start and saved her life on the battle field. It was debt she had repaid by saving him in another battle, they always had one another's backs.

She had arrived in England with her friends that knew her secret, they didn't care, they all trusted each other with their lives. Derek Morgan, who had been accused of being a Saracen many times because of his dark skin, the German Aaron Hotchner and the Italian ex monk David Rossi, they were hardened warriors whose only wish was rest from the bloodshed. They were soon to realise that coming home would not give them the rest from turmoil that they were looking for.

TBC


	2. An Unkind of Homecoming

Title: Band of Brigands

Author: Magrat 70

Ratings: T

Disclaimer: not mine blah blah

Thank you to Sao21 for beta work, any mistakes are mine and mine alone. Thank you to Sao21 for all the gentle reminders not to forget this story and the plans we made for it. I have included the Night Watchman; the vigilante played by Maid Marian in the last BBC series; obviously this will be JJ as that vigilante.

An unkind of Homecoming.

"Your home is no longer under the control of your family. A man called Gisb-borne is now the lord and master," Hotch reported back to Emily, the German stumbling over the new word. He looked his friend in the eye and could see cold anger and worry on her face her dark eyes almost totally black. "There is more..." he hesitated for a second, although she had improved with her years in the Holy Land, she still had the reputation as a firebrand. "Adam of Loxley has had his titles removed and his land repossessed after being found guilty as a traitor for plotting to murder the king; you are an outlaw, my friend."

The three men sat quietly in the camp they had set up in a hidden cave in a small glade deep in the woods. They were waiting to see how Emily would react; she had been disguised as her brother Adam for all her adult and half of her teenage life. She had fought bravely at the side of her King for eight years almost losing her life twice; the scars on her face and body bore witness to her bravery.

The woman rubbed her gloved hand through her thick short hair, taking a moment to compose herself. Emily's years of leading men into battle had taught her not jump to angry retaliation; traps could be set. It is best to think like the enemy and plan accordingly. "My mother?"

The tall German gave a sarcastic laugh. "The Sheriff decided to be kind to your mother and not punish your mother for your crimes. The opinions that I heard was he knew he couldn't touch her or her dowry without retaliation from your uncles in the south. Her family was too powerful for him to risk stealing all your family's wealth. When you were declared an outlaw, both your uncles sent fifty men a piece to visit with your mother. The Sheriff decided that your mother should not be shamed. She was given a large cottage, rent and tax free, in the village and a small stipend on top of her own income. Your family's oldest most trusted servants went with her. The one thing your mother demanded from the Sheriff was that she kept the dovecote; although no one knew why. The Sheriff was happy with those terms; although, Will of Gisborne wanted everything. It is felt he wants everything you ever had."

The silence in the glade was suffocating, Morgan knew exactly what it was that Gisborne wanted most of all; Jennifer. He knew that Emily would kill the man with her bare hands if he had laid even a finger on her.

"Is he married?" Emily's voice came out rough and hoarse as if she had been gurgling with a hundred blades.

"No my friend, the lady and her family have rebutted his advances. However, the Sheriff has put an extra tax on her father's land that he has little chance of being able to pay. The gossip in the market says that Gisborne has offered to clear all the family debt in exchange for the lady's hand. It is also widely believed that you have been executed in Jerusalem by the king's own hand." Hotchner had spent the last couples of days staying in the village inn and posing as a German merchant travelling between Nottingham and York on business. He had pretended that his English was poor when in fact it was word perfect. It always amazed him the secrets that could be unveiled when the people talking took at face value what an unobtrusive stranger had put forward about themselves that couldn't be verified. Years of war and fighting had left him only trusting his three companions; their trust burnt into all of them in the stifling heat of blood and battle.

Emily stretched her muscular body, years spent wielding a broad sword in full battle armour had left her with a strength of body that few men could match, never mind women. She remembered her passion to fight for her god, her king and country. She had been young and foolish. She wondered if she should leave Loxley, go to Europe with her friends and find somewhere where she belonged. Her heart had craved home, her family's land, and her childhood friends. Now she was branded an outlaw, a traitor, to serve the money grabbing cowards who had stayed at home and took advantage of widows, orphans, and the elderly.

The female knight, now an outlaw, was trying to control the rage that burned to take action and revenge over the destruction of her name. She wondered if the report had reached the Sheriff's ears that Sir Adam of Loxley had been gravely injured on the battlefield. That would be reason enough for this cowardly land grab that he had shared with his right hand man.

"When the night falls, I shall visit my mother and check on Adam," Emily sighed; although some information could be found out, the concealment of her brother was so masterful it would be impossible to find out if he was still alive or if his seizures had managed to kill him yet. If her brother still lived, they would both soon be living in concealment; at least she had a certain amount of freedom of movement, at least until it became known that she was still alive and in the area. She also wanted to clear her name.

xxxxxx

The four former warriors had now divested themselves of the chainmail they used to wear to blend into the forest where they had set up camp. They had taken to wearing soft deerskin pants with dark green woven singlets that had a hood they could pull over their heads. Emily wore the softest brown leather boots that fit like a glove and made little noise when she moved. As nightfall came, Emily pulled on a thick woolen cloak that also had a hood. She broke bread with her friends, eating a simple stew from the game that they had hunted in the forest and ingredients that Hotch had brought back from the market.

Taking a route around the edge of the village to where her new family home was situated, Emily passed Jennifer's home; she gave a brief sigh wondering what her first and only love looks like now. Keeping in the deep shadows she kept away from places like the inn that would still have people around it this late at night. She watched the house, trying to judge where the different bedrooms would be. She presumed that Adam and her mother would be the two at the front of the building that had large windows. Using the advantage of clouds blocking the moonlight, she shot an arrow into a wooden lintel and used the attached strong, thin rope to climb up to the sill.

Emily gave a sigh of relief when she saw her twin fast asleep; Adam still lived! Using a dagger from inside her cloak she forced open the catch, noiselessly dropping to the floor. She reached out and grabbed her arrow and placed it back in her quiver. Padding across the room she made sure that the bedroom door was shut tight. Anticipating her brother's shock Emily placed a gloved hand over his mouth, "Adam...shhh. You're perfectly safe, please don't make a noise when I remove my hand."

The young man woke with his heart pounding out of his chest, trying to compose himself, knowing from the journals that he kept for Spencer that stress compounded his episodes. It took Adam a moment for his brain to kick into gear and guess who knew he was there and would have sought him out. The answer that presented itself seemed unlikely. His sister was supposed to be dead, executed as a traitor. "Emily?"

"Hi brother, it's been a while," Emily smiled at the shock on his handsome face.

"We were told you were dead."

"It would seem for the second time, once as me and once as you, the reports of my death may be greatly exaggerated." Emily smirked at her brother, who suddenly enveloped her in a huge hug.

"I knew it was lies... mother, uncle, none of us could believe that you were a traitor. What happened?" Adam for the first time noticed the scar down his sister's face. The guarded look in his sister's eyes caught him by surprise; she could never usually hide her emotions, but even though she smiled, it didn't light her face like it used. There was an intensity, a broodiness, that had never been there before.

"I was hurt in battle, and, it seems, some people believed I had died and took advantage of the situation. I had had enough of the death and bloodshed and had already made my intentions known that I was heading home after the battle... I believe that I was cut down by one of our own. I didn't see the stroke that took me down, but Morgan believed it was not a Saracen blade from the type of wounds I had..."

"Derek is still alive too? His parents were told that he was killed by you when he found out the plot. They were rewarded by the Sheriff, but his father hardly works the smith anymore. Derek's brother-in-law mostly works it now. You know if you are spotted, they will put you to death," Adam felt a tightness in his chest; his sister was home, but she shouldn't be in the village walls after curfew when the gates had been shut.

"Don't worry Adam, I came over the wall to get in; I will have little problems getting back out. It is not like Loxley has armed guards patrolling the walls at night like in Nottingham," Emily anticipated her brother as she had been all her life.

"One day, dear sister, I would like to pull the wool over your eyes." The way she could anticipate his thoughts and deepest wants and fears could irritate him, but he had to admit he could turn a lifetime of knowing his twin back on her. "Although, I can do the same back to you. You haven't asked?" The brother and sister, with their deep, sad, dark eyes, regarded each other for a moment to see who would break first.

"Jennifer?" Emily whispered, not able to hold her brother's gaze any longer.

"Devastated, broken hearted, angry and those are on good days. She comes here every day, and every day she tells me that she begged you not to go. She thinks that the love of her life is dead."

"Maybe it is better if that's what she thinks and moves on. I'm not who I was, I have seen too much and felt more than I can ever explain. I am angry all of the time. You see the scar on my face, I have worse on my body, but those scars pale in significance compared to the ones in my mind. I am broken, scarred, and an outlaw. I love her too much for her to be with me," Emily's voice started off strident, louder than their whole conversation, before fading away to the quietest whisper.

"You arrogant fool! What right have you got to take her choice away? Does she not have a choice in this?" Adam angrily threw at his sister. "Will knows she is grieving, but that bastard does not give her peace. Is that what you want? To see her in Gisborne's bed, heavy with his child? The bastard who took my life, who tried to deflower you without your permission! Is that what you want to see? You coward..." Adam had tried to rile the fight in his sibling and was shocked to see big fat tears drop from her eyes. The only other time he had seen his sister cry was when she blamed herself for his episodes. "Em, my dearest sister, I am sorry. I know you are no coward, excuse me, please."

"I deserve your words. I am not good enough for her, but I will die before I see her marry Gisborne," Emily stated, finally finding the fight in her heart. "I know we still have the dovecote; has Spencer still got his workshop under there?"

"Yes, he does; I get out there if I can. He has made all sorts of disguises for me to be able to get out now and again; although, we have been more circumspect since your, my, outlaw status has been announced."

"Good, I will need both your help to clear my name," Emily said, the decision made in her mind that she would not sit back and allow herself to be sullied. "I will go now, I have friends with me; we are camped in the forest. I will try to come back soon, and I will speak with mother next time. Will you let her know I am here? I do not wish to give her a heart attack in the middle of the night."

"I will, Emily," the brother and sister hugged once more before she left.

After leaving her brother Emily found herself walking back and forth outside Jennifer's bedroom window, a debate raging inside herself. With a decisive action, she swung up to the blonde's window. She broke in and dropped to the floor in a room she had played in when she was a small child. The sight of Jennifer asleep took her breath away. She was even more beautiful than she was at eighteen when they had kissed and touched and made a promise to one another. If nothing else she was buoyed by the sight; Will would never touch Jennifer.

Emily reached into her quiver and pulled out the token she had taken with her but hadn't been sure she would deliver, a white rose wrapped in lavenders; she knew that Jennifer would know the meaning. Whether she would understand, Emily didn't know. She lay the flowers on Jennifer's pillow before leaving the ghost of a kiss on her cheek. The blonde stirred slightly in her sleep. "Go back to sleep my love and dream about what should be between us." Emily's gentle words coaxed her back to sleep.

With one last look at the beautiful face she had thought many times she would never see again, Emily swung out of the window.

TBC


	3. The Night Watchman

Title: Band of Brigands

Author: Magrat 70

Disclaimer: not mine blah blah

Rating: T

Thank you to Sao21 my beta, you were more than a caterpillar in the Dovecote :-)

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett, my screen name Magrat is named after one of his witches; Alzheimer's is a terrible disease and has robbed the world of another amazing mind, I will miss the excitement that came with the new release of a new Disc World book.

The Night Watchman

Emily growled softly to herself as she once more saw Jennifer slip out of one of the darkened windows. She had seen her rob the evening delivery of food for the Gisborne household. Jennifer was now delivering parcels of food to the tenant farmers who could barely pay the rent and tax that was being levied against them. She would have felt so proud of her lady love, but Jennifer was putting herself in so much danger.

There was a price on The Night Watchman's head, and Rossi had heard some talk amongst a group of bounty hunters that they were going to go to Loxley and deliver this hero of the people's head to the Sheriff; of course they didn't get very far before Emily and her men put an end to any threat they could be.

The only problem was that Jennifer was getting more ambitious; she had robbed the tax collector as he slept in a local whore house before she distributed the money to the poorest in the outlying villages. This went from Gisborne to the Sheriff being pissed off with 'The Night Watchman'. Emily was petrified that Jennifer was going to get herself killed.

She had been following her for weeks, feeling the control of her temper slipping further away. If Gisborne employed decent guards, she would be dead; she certainly hadn't noticed Emily following.

At that second, whilst not paying attention, a dagger missed one of her kidneys and ended up scratching her side as Jennifer turned quickly on her. Emily almost fell with her weight off centered as Jennifer drove at her with a flurry of kicks and punches that Emily only just managed block. She took a hard right to face that was going to leave a bruise in the morning. The blonde tried to sweep her off her feet, but by then Emily had her balance back.

The brunette backed away from Jennifer, pretending to limp until she was deep in the shadow against village walls. Emily caught Jennifer and held the struggling blonde from behind, hard against her body. "Stop struggling Jennifer. I won't hurt you." She could tell the blonde was going to bite her so she had her arm across her throat. A part of Emily broke, having to be so rough with the woman she adored. She could tell the fight was going out of the blonde; it was a fine line between holding someone like this so the lack of oxygen would slow them down, and badly hurting them.

"You have to stop doing this," Emily carried the low growl that she used earlier. "You're going to get yourself killed."

Jennifer had given up struggling for the moment, realizing that there could be an opening when the man relaxed. The fact that he knew her name concerned her; how could he know who she was? She had thought she had felt something for the last couple of weeks; she had judged it to be the usual paranoia she felt when she put on the green leathers, cloak and mask. She tested the man's strength, trying to twist out of his grip, his strength was terrifying, yet he hadn't tried to hurt her. There was something in the voice hidden behind a growl and his scent that was nagging at her subconscious.

"They will bring in much better troops from Nottingham; there's already a price on your head." Emily hissed, "I've already had to take care of some bounty hunters on their way here from Nottingham."

"It's none of your business, and I don't care who they send after me. The villagers are starving; they could barely manage before the new tax rises. Someone has to stand up for them," Jennifer growled back, angry that some unknown man had the cheek to tell her how to live her life. Not that she cared much with Emily killed as a traitor in the Holy Land.

"You're throwing your life away," Emily growled, the frustration of being so close to her love, having her body pressed up against her, was driving Emily crazy; that and Jennifer's stubbornness over her own safety was making her frustrated, and she struggled against wanting to tell the woman she would be broken if anything happened to her.

"What life? My life died in the Holy Land. I will care for my villagers with my last breath. Better to be dead than forced into a marriage with Gisborne." Jennifer was close to tears and couldn't believe it when the man started to search her. His hands touching all over her body until he found the small collapsible crossbow that Adam and Reid had invented for her. "Hey, you can't take that! I need it."

"No, you don't," Emily growled, dropping a purse of gold coins that they had taken off the bounty hunters when they had killed them into Jennifer's pocket. "I think, my lady will find this is more than enough to cover the loss, and my men and I pledge ourselves to the people of Loxley and Nottingham. I will leave more money with you Jennifer at an agreed drop. You are a healer, the people need you in that capacity. I am a killer; you stick to what you're good at, and I will stick to mine." Emily dropped a second purse, which not only held the necklace that Emily had bought for Jennifer, but the result of a robbery of some of the sheriff's rich friends as they rode into traps set for them in the woods. That and the jeweler who had taken advantage of Jennifer's position when he had brought the necklace off her. The fear of her men, and the threat they would be back for his life, had kept him from reporting the theft. "You and your father have come into a small legacy, enough to cover your debts; you don't have to marry Gisborne."

Jennifer's legs almost went from under her in shock and relief. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"I-I promised a friend I would always take care of you, Jennifer," Emily answered softly, the growl gone from her voice. She couldn't help it; the brunette had been trying to control herself, but with Jennifer's body clenched up against her own, she couldn't fight it any longer and kissed the back of Jennifer's neck. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have; I had no right." Emily let go of Jennifer with a small push and was over the wall in moments.

The soft voice left the blonde shivery with shock and those lips on the back of her neck. "Emily?" Jennifer whispered in shock before walking back to her own house deep in thought. She climbed into her own bedroom window to find more flowers left on her pillow. Pink and white roses combined; she knew combined like this meant 'I love you and I always will'. When she opened the second purse and her necklace was in there, she was left with no doubts. These weeks of flowers and small gifts being left in her bedroom that had confused her, had scared her that they were from Will and he would find out she was the Night Watchmen; she should have guessed that he would never be into this level of romance. There was an anger too. How could she be back and not contact her? How could they let her go on thinking that Emily was dead?

xxxx

Elizabeth's maid opened the door and was surprised to see Lady Jennifer on the doorstep looking furious. The blonde had been looking depressed for weeks. The maid was confused about Jennifer's relationship with Emily as Adam. She had thought it was meant as a camouflage but now believed it to be deeper. "Where's Lady Elizabeth?"

"She is already out my lady, seeing an old friend."

Jennifer dropped her voice. "Adam?"

"He is with Master Reid, I don't know where they disappear to..." Jennifer was already gone.

xxxx

"Adam, I don't understand why we're working on forest camouflage and the type of weapons that could stop a coach. It isn't like they can help the Night Watchmen," Reid wondered if Adam would just tell him or if he would have to put him on the spot.

"Reid, you know we don't say those words," Adam hissed at his best friend who, while helping him to invent weapons and other things that could help Jennifer, spent most of his time trying to invent a potion that would stop his seizures which they knew would kill him one day. "There are other people on our side against Gisborne and the sheriff. Oh and I need you to forge a legal document that makes it look like Jennifer's father has come in to a legacy."

"JJ hasn't pulled off another big robbery?" Reid asked, using the nickname they used for Jennifer when talking about her exploits.

"No, you know even if she managed to get her hands on that amount of money she would give it away. She would never keep it for her own good," Adam was exasperated, over the last few months JJ could have cleared the debt that the sheriff and Gisborne were using to blackmail Jennifer into marriage.

"Then who, Adam? Who has managed to find enough money to help Jennifer when all but the sheriff's friends are being squeezed for 'the war effort'? Who is helping Jennifer? I know who loved her and would have put her life on the line for her. The thing is, that woman, Jennifer's knight, is dead in the Holy Land, Adam. Tell me the truth. I'm your best friend; I care about Emily like she was my sister."

Adam took a deep breath; it had been a struggle every day to not tell Reid that his sister was alive, that the announcement by Prince John about Emily being a traitor was a lie. "She's back, none of it is true. She is having to hide out in Sherwood Forest like an outlaw. She has a few friends with her, and they have resorted to stealing from the sheriff's friends. She is going to give the money to JJ so she doesn't have to fight anymore."

XXX

JJ made sure that no one was following her into the dovecote. She found the brick in the wall that clicked the mechanism that Adam and Reid had made, and a flagstone opened in the floor of the dovecote. She climbed down the ladder into a small empty chamber. Pressing an almost hidden stone in the wall, the flagstone closed; pressing another on the other side of the room, a portion of the wall swung open leading to a small passageway, lit by torches. She stopped when she could hear Adam and Reid's raised voices in their workshop. She heard everything that Adam had to say about his sister.

"Anyone thought to tell JJ that she was back!" The blonde stormed into the room, picking up some of the glass tubing filled with a viscous liquid that Reid used for his alchemy experiments and smashed it against the wall. How long has she been back Adam? For about six weeks someone has been leaving flowers in my room. Has that been Emily?"

Jennifer's shoulders dropped when Adam nodded his head. "Then why didn't she talk to me?" The tears started to flow from the blonde's eyes. "Is there someone else, she doesn't want me..."

"Jennifer, nothing like that, she loves you," Adam sighed, he had told his sister to see Jennifer over and over again. "She isn't the same person, the things she's seen and done, she is deeply ashamed of and... and she is scarred. She didn't want you to see her that way."

"She thinks I am so shallow that I would care about that?" Jennifer's temper was gone, she had had enough of this game with her feelings that Emily was playing with her. To leave flowers that meant so many promises of love but never reveal herself, it was too much, "Tell her to meet me at our place in the woods, she should still remember where that is, tomorrow at noon. If she isn't there, I will marry Gisborne." JJ could see the hurt look on Adam's face, "I know you hate him for all that he did to you and I would be joining with the enemy. I don't care, I want her to explain herself to me, and Adam tell your sister I want my bow back."

TBC


End file.
